A Colorado City, Ariz., man who won the right to remain in a home owned by a polygamist sect landed in jail Tuesday night after he tried to lock out the residence's current occupants.
Colorado City police arrested Ross Chatwin for criminal trespassing, a felony, after he entered the home through a window on the first floor, changed the door locks and posted a "No Trespassing" sign on the residence.
Chatwin declined late Wednesday evening to explain his actions, saying he had not yet consulted with an attorney.
The battle over the home has pitted Chatwin against the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which owns most of the property in the border towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, through its UEP Trust.
The property feud also has set brother against brother.
Chatwin and his family live in the home's lower level, while his brother Steven's family occupies the upper floor. Steven Chatwin's wife called police after discovering the family had been locked out. Officers arrested Ross Chatwin when he refused to give his brother keys to the new locks. Chatwin said when he posted the "No trespassing" sign he also apologized to his brother for the situation in a note and said to contact him to recover his belongings.
He spent the night at Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane, Utah, and was released Wednesday after appearing in the Moccasin, Ariz., Justice Court.
The two brothers and their families have maintained an uneasy co-existence in the home since January, when Chatwin was ousted from the FLDS church by leader Warren Jeffs.
At the time, Jeffs also ordered him to vacate the dwelling. Chatwin refused, though he did move into the home's lower level; the home's top floor was taken over by Steven Chatwin, his wife and their four children.
The church subsequently tried to evict Chatwin, his wife, Lori, and their six children from the home, but the family refused to budge.
Arizona Judge James Chavez sided with them, ruling in May that Chatwin could remain in the dwelling for life or until the FLDS church compensated him for $130,000 in improvements.
The FLDS church has asked the Arizona Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling, and in the meantime Chatwin is trying to have his brother evicted from the home. An eviction hearing is scheduled in Kingman, Ariz., Justice Court on Friday before Judge Chavez.
"Given the fact that he's got the issue coming before the court on Friday, I don't understand why he would resort to self help," said Rod Parker, a Salt Lake attorney who represents the FLDS church and, in this case, Steven Chatwin.
Parker said Chavez's earlier ruling did not order Steven Chatwin to vacate the home. The church also maintains that Ross Chatwin should pay for improvements made to the home after it was taken over by his brother.
Chatwin said the FLDS church made the improvements despite his objections and even as he resisted being kicked out of the home.
"We tried to stop them from doing that," said Chatwin. He said he believes the improvements were made to pressure him to either pay for them or give up the house.